Internal Organizational Problems and the Sources of Tensions of Terrorist Movements as Catalysts of Violence

In: Terrorism: an internat. journal, Band 1, Heft 3-4, S. 277-285

Abstract

Violent action by members of terrorist organizations can be triggered by internal organizational problems of such groups, as well as by purely external factors. Two categories of such problems are distinguished. Command problems include reconciliation of security with effective communication, clustering of ethnic groups under stress, the role of women, & the quality of membership. Political problems include the self-destructive potential of terrorist organizations, especially when victorious, the problem of inflated membership, & the role of terrorist leaders as givers of moral dispensation. The use of terror as a weapon is a process having dynamics of its own apart from the intentions of those who use it. Modified HA.